My Hero Academia: New World
by Slavic PhD
Summary: As the luster of All Might's heroism dulls in the world's eye, the United States leaps on the opportunity to produce a new generation of pro heroes to assert themselves once again as a global superpower. Colette and her nineteen classmates must overcome obstacle over obstacle thrown at them by teachers and villains alike if they want a chance to graduate and become heroes!
1. Arrival

Deep in the chilly woods of North Michigan, a faded green military jeep wove between the trees, branches cracking underneath the rumbling tires of the vehicle and leaving behind deep, muddied tracks. Ahead of the jeep lay a similar tangle of tracks leading deeper into the forest, creating a crude road which the driver followed loosely. Sitting underneath the cloth cover of the car in the back was an anxious Colette, who had been driven out over an hour into the woods following her run at the entrance exam for HCC Midwest. She gripped her phone between her hands, clutching it tight despite the absence of service this far from civilization. Her eyes were fixed around one foot in front of the jeep at all times, though this late into the evening it was hard to see much farther through the vegetation. However, even Colette's anxious vision couldn't keep off the approach to the HCC, a brutalist concrete structure buried deep in the woods. The jeep decelerated lazily as Colette tried to corral her nerves with deep breaths and rubbing her palms. At last, the vehicle came to a full stop and Colette hopped out onto the crisp leaves underfoot.

"Your belongings are in the trunk. This is your stop, the reception is just through the doors closest to us." The soldier who had driven Colette to the HCC leaned out the passenger side of the vehicle, and he seemed to possess a mutation Quirk, though hard to discern in the night. Perhaps seeing visible hesitance on his passenger's face, he offered to take her back at the expense of extensive check-ins for security reasons. Colette gave the thought serious consideration for a moment before taking a deep breath to steel herself.

"No! I… I studied so hard to pass the entrance exam, I never thought I could make it into the school, let alone be a hero and save people… But I'm here now! I can't pass this opportunity up! It's my chance to be a hero!" Colette feebly lifted up a fist to punctuate her speech, a nervous smile spreading across her face. The soldier paused for a moment, shrugged apathetically and pulled himself back into the driver's seat. Colette scurried to the back of the jeep and grabbed her meticulously packed suitcases, as well as her duffle bag and her totes.

As the jeep drove off, she struggled towards the double doors to the facility with three bags slung over her arms and a suitcase in each hand. She propped her luggage up as she stood before the doors, placing her hands on the cold handles as electric butterflies darted in her stomach. Everyone she would spend the next four years of her life with were behind these doors. The heroes that would hone her into an awe-inspiring hero were behind these doors. Her new home was behind these doors. Slowly, she opened the heavy metal doors and looked inside the sparsely populated room behind them.

Colette's eyes were slow to adjust to the dimly lit room, somehow feeling darker than outside. After pulling her suitcases in she grabbed the corners of her glasses and lit her fingers up, allowing her eyes to slowly adjust to the ambient light so she could get a good look around. Colette had expected to find herself in some state-of-the-art training facility, but instead found herself with about a dozen other people in an old schoolhouse cafeteria. Food sat on the counter to be freely taken, along with the remaining puddle of an upturned punch bowl. Colette's heart dropped through her stomach. She had seen pictures of the hero schools in Japan, and the one on the West Coast; sleek, high-tech, and fashionable, she had expected the new school to match. Was this really where she was going to live for four years?

As fading fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, Colette scanned the room, both taking in her new classmates as well as trying to find a spot to sit. The room lacked energy, a few of the students held conversation with a clear lack in enthusiasm, some sat around the room deep in study, and one girl was out cold, drowning in a pillow of her own hair. Most people gave Colette sideways glances at best, or outright ignoring her otherwise. As she walked around the outskirts of the cafeteria, scouting the room for a spot, she passed by the vending machines where a thin, greasy boy was browsing the selection.

"Pretzels it is!" Colette overheard as she walked past him, not paying him much attention. She heard a snap beside her and instinctively looked over, but the boy was still looking at the vending machine. The machine's lights started to flicker and the racks of the machine began rotating unpredictably. _He must have a technology Quirk,_ Colette thought in amazement, but was soon cut off as the strap to her duffle bag slipped out of the buckle, causing it to careen to the floor, zipper wide open. Colette gasped and dropped to the ground, startling the boy who turned around to see her scooping up a raggedy teddy bear in her arms.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were standing there or I would have warned you, I just wanted some pretzels, all the food here is cold and-" The boy took a deep breath as he collected himself and held a hand out to Colette, offering her help from the floor. "My name is D, my Quirk screws with things around me. I can mostly aim it, but it doesn't work perfectly." With trepidation, Colette reached out and accepted D's help. She dusted her stuffed animal off gently before returning it to her bag, and followed up by dusting off her sweater.

"D? That's an… interesting name," Colette commented, slightly shook as she restrung her duffle bag through the buckle. She looked at the boy with a sour expression. Even if it was an accident, D needed to be more careful using his Quirk uncontrolled like that. What if there was a citizen on life support nearby, or an emergency vehicle, or what if he was on a plane? Colette scolded her classmate thoroughly in her mind as he turned to the vending machine and gave it a solid kick as pretzels fell to the opening with a thunk.

"I was named after my dad, it's complicated but I'd rather not get into it. It's just much easier for me to go by D, believe me." D held out a bag of pretzels towards Colette. "Here, I got two of them. Trust me, it's way better than what they're serving here, or what's left of it anyways." Colette paused for a moment, thinking how she would be spending four years with D, and slowly accepted the pretzels.

"Thank you. I'm Colette, I'm here because I want to be a hero like- well, that's obvious I guess!" Colette laughed awkwardly, placing the pretzels in her food tote. "Um, I really like Miss Solar, she really resonates for me and motivated me to try being a hero. Who inspired you to come here?" D glanced away with a near-grim expression on his face, clearly thinking hard about something, before returning to face Colette with a smile.

"You know, I just always adored the greats, like All Might or Endeavor. I know my Quirk isn't anything like theirs, but it's hard to resist the call of all that glory, you know?" D popped open his bag of pretzels and popped one in his mouth, audibly crunching it. Colette nodded politely and turned back to try and find a place to leave her stuff. As she began to walk away, D followed close beside her, chewing away at his pretzels. "You know, you're the first friend I've made here today, everyone seems really closed off from each other-" D paused to swallow his mouthful of food before continuing. "We're gonna be classmates for a while now, and maybe even work together as pros. You'd think people would be a little more open to networking."

As Colette tried to drown out D's rambling with her own thoughts, she saw a pair of mutant Quirks waving her down joyfully at a table near the corner of the room. With her new companion nagging away at her, Colette approached the table and saw the two students up close. One sported big compound eyes, fuzzy green skin, and a pair of giant intricate wings on her back. The other had shiny red skin, a pair of jointed antennae, and a single giant claw. Relieved to finally put her luggage down, Colette slumped down onto the bench, D sitting himself down right beside her.

"Hello there! We noticed that you were looking flustered after you arrived so we thought it amicable to invite you to sit with us!" The winged girl was the first to speak, and while her eyes were heavily mutated by her Quirk they still radiated a genuine joy from them. "My name is Virginia, it is a pleasure to meet you!"

"Oh, well, thank you for inviting me over, I'm-" Colette's introduction was cut short as the other student spoke up with a fervor.

"I'm Rusty! Er, m'name that is, not my skin. I'm pretty much what you expect, basically a lobster but smarter!" Rusty introduced himself with a goofy glee, while D held up his forefinger and thumb close to each other, mocking Rusty's intelligence.

* * *

 **RUSTY LONG**

 **QUIRK: LOBSTER**

Rusty can do pretty much anything a lobster can. His hard body protects him from sharp hits, his gills allow him to breathe underwater, and his antennae give him awesome sensory abilities. His claw packs some serious power behind it too!

* * *

"Rusty! It is rude to interrupt people when they are introducing themselves!" Virginia's glee broke for exactly one sentence to briefly chastise her friend before turning back to Colette with a smile. "Please forgive my companion, you were saying your name was?" Colette cleared her throat as she adjusted her glasses.

"I'm Colette," she began, stretching her arms out in front of her, "my Quirk lets me, well, glow, basically." To demonstrate, her fingertips began to light up before emitting small beams of light from them.

* * *

 **COLETTE CLARK**

 **QUIRK: LIGHT UP**

Colette's Quirk allows her to produce light of varying colors and intensities from her body. This can illuminate parts of her or be extended into beams like a living flashlight!

* * *

Colette herself looked only bemused while Virginia and Rusty seemed astonished by the Quirk, both their mouths open.

"It's not much of a Quirk for a fight, but I've always really admired Miss Solar and if there's any chance I can learn how to use my powers like she can, I think I could be useful sometimes." Colette's fingers dimmed back down afterwards and she looked back at her new friends.

"Do not sell yourself short, Colette! Your Quirk is amazing!" Virginia looked enamored with the demonstration as she complimented Colette. "That would be incredibly useful for rescues during the night, or underground!"

"Yeah, or you could use it for secret spy stuff, like sending a message secretly across a room. Oh, I'll help you come up with some signals!" Rusty chimed in with his praise as well, and Colette could feel her heart swell with pride. "Besides, yours is way prettier'n something like mine, I look like some kinda action figure." Rusty moved his arms robotically for emphasis as he continued.

"Oh! You can leave your suitcases and bags over against the eastern wall!" Virginia pointed to a wall away from everyone else, something of an alcove, where a handful of bags were placed haphazardly but discreetly. "You look exhausted from having to carry your stuff around, please take care of yourself!"

"Thank you so much for telling me, Virginia! I'll be right back!" With effort, Colette gathered up all her possessions and headed over to the wall. Like clockwork, D got up from the bench and continued to talk with Colette, who was quickly growing tired with him.

"Wow, they're pretty easily impressed. I mean, don't get me wrong, your Quirk is neat and all, but it really doesn't have that raw power that someone like Solar has, or the stylish appearance of Edgefold. I'm sure it'll get better with training, that's why we're all here, but if that's all it takes to impress those two how are they going to deal with meeting pro heroes?" Colette dropped her luggage to the floor by the wall before turning towards D.

"Look, I'm… I'm really self conscious about my Quirk. Right now it isn't more than a party trick to help me find my glasses at night, but-" Colette's complaint was cut short as the doors to the cafeteria flung open with great force and a built girl marched in.

"Alright, which one of you said it!?" The girl bellowed out, commanding nearly everyone's attention. Her outfit was athletic, too athletic considering the weather this time of year, Colette thought, and she wore a jean vest over it. "Ain't no one is gonna beat Daisy at arm wrestling!" In response to her yelling, an extremely bony boy stood up with a devilish grin on his face.

"Oh I'm the one who issued the challenge, I'll take you on no problem, I bet ten bucks on it!" He walked over to the middlemost table, the same one where the girl from earlier was still passed out. Daisy shot a violent grin back and marched over to the same table, sitting down with an audible thunk and slamming her elbow onto the table. The skeletal boy followed suit and the two locked hands together. Even without knowing their Quirks it looked like Daisy was going to destroy her challenger, her arms several times larger than his.

The two began, and Colette could see both their muscles flexing with intensity despite neither's arm moving so much as an inch. After about a minute of this stalemate, Daisy's arm started to crystallize into a brilliant white diamond. Colette watched with amazement as her arm up to her elbow become solid crystal, translucent enough for her to see through. Despite this, the boy, though clearly straining, still kept his arm locked in place.

"Now see, that's a marketable Quirk. People like you or me, we're backline heroes at best, or sidekicks supporting the pros. But if you can turn your arm into diamond, people will rally behind you. What was it you were saying about your Quirk?" D's words sounded genuine but they cut deep into Colette's heart as she looked from Daisy's crystal arm down to her fingers as she made them glow and then go out.

"Never mind about it, I just want to sit down again." Dejected, Colette walked back to the bench with her new friends and sat down, putting her head in her hands.

"I just don't understand how you can get into a hero school like this and just barge in yellin' for people to fight you." Rusty expressed his concern as his face dropped from his gleeful persona earlier. "You can have as flashy a Quirk as you want but it's gonna be real hard to get people to look up to you as a hero if you treat people like dirt."

"I strongly disagree, half of being a hero is the looks, people won't look up to you if they won't even look at you." D debated while both Virginia and Rusty just looked puzzled. "Oh, I never introduced myself, I'm D, my Quirk lets me break stuff around me, it's good to meet you all." While Rusty took up verbal arms with D, Virginia looked over at her distraught friend.

"Colette, please do not compare yourself to her, or to anyone else. Your Quirk is beautiful and it will bring people joy like it brought us joy. Even the greatest heroes have their detractors, and Colette I believe you can be a great hero." Virginia's words were spoken much softer, rather than the excitement they had been in her earlier conversations. Colette's heart once again rose from her gut to her chest and sat up straight. _I believe you can be a great hero_ , the thought get resonating in her mind, it was everything that she wanted to hear right now.

"Virginia, thank-" Colette was cut short by a clamorous thump, who spun around to see Daisy having finally won the arm-wrestle, her entire arm frosted over in diamond and her foot braced up on the table. The boy laid on his side, arm twisted as the victor stood over him with a smirk.

"Like I said, ain't no one can defeat Daisy! Now I'll take my money, thank you," Daisy's gloating was cut short as one of the studying girls slammed her textbook against the bench, Daisy craning her neck to look at her. The girl was relatively plain looking, with straight hair that reached nearly to the floor and sleek glasses that her intense eyes stared over. Her hair was dark, but as she stood up it began to change color from a dull orange to a bright red.

"I'm sure that it's really exciting to show up and show off your big muscles and flashy quirks, but do I really need to remind you that this is a school?" The agitated girl held up the book she had been reading, something to do with the fundamentals of Quirks. "Some of us came here to study so we can be effective, responsible, heroes…" Her words became increasingly muted and her hair darkened back to black as Daisy had hopped off the table and began striding over to her. Daisy stood for a moment in front of her before pulling the book out of her hand and flipping through the pages disinterestedly. "Hey!"

"What's your name?" Daisy's question came out more like a command as she continued to examine the book. The other girl stared at her with a fiery intensity before clearing her throat.

"My name is Faith. I am here to study and become a hero so I could bring some order to this country. You will return my book to me and go back to scraping rocks together for warmth, you neanderthal!" Each sentence was louder, and with each one Faith's hair turned brighter and brighter red, starting to curl into wisps towards the bottom. Daisy finally looked back at Faith with a playful smile, still holding her book away from her.

"You've got some spunk, don't you, Faith?" Daisy tossed her book back onto the table as she addressed her. One of her arms turned to diamond once again. "Looks like I'll just have to beat it out of you." Faith grabbed her now vibrant hair in response, wrapping it around one of her knuckles and looked ready to fight.

"Enough!" An impossibly massive voice bellowed from beyond the crowd that had now formed. Even the sleeping girl finally woke for this voice. Some students turned in confusion but Colette's heart fluttered, she would know that voice anywhere! She wheeled around in her seat to confirm that, in fact, Miss Solar stood in front of the crowd, arms crossed. "Being heroes in training as you are, you had better develop a thicker skin. Perhaps you'd be better to learn that from Armoraider than me, however."

Colette couldn't believe her eyes, there was her hero, her idol, Miss Solar standing only feet from her. Solar was massive, standing seven feet tall and commanding attention with her signature Quirk Daybreak, a Quirk which gave Solar a miniature star for a head. Colette turned to Virginia and silently mouthed her excitement. _Miss Solar? Armoraider?_ She couldn't believe her dreams were coming true on her first night at school.

"You're here to become heroes, so you're expected to behave like the adults you are, not act like schoolchildren on the playground. The government's taking a risk in sponsoring a school like this, and if you want to see this school improve you need to prove that taxpayer dollars are being used well here." With her arms crossed and a somehow stern expression across her featureless face, Solar continued. "Our maiden class has 20 students, and as of now all have arrived. The choice is yours, but I would recommend trying to get on the good side of some of the students here, you'll be stuck with them for the next four years if you want to go pro. Now, Foghorn, if you'd please start with the dorm assignments?" From behind Miss Solar came a tall, thin hero, wispy from his clothes to his hair. _Foghorn's here too!_ Colette was beside herself with excitement.

"Alright, if you'd like to continue to beat each other senseless before the first day of school, be my guest. Just know that once we leave, those doors," Foghorn pointed a finger at the interior doors the pros had entered from, "are going to be locked. If you're interested in sleeping in real beds and resting before your first day, however, you'd best listen up. On the boys side: Rusty and D," Colette looked over to see the two of them exchange a thumbs up, "Cedar and Lee, Fran and Auden, Zeke and Lyric,"

"Oh, actually I'm-" A student with fair features and lavender hair chimed up, but was silenced by Foghorn clearing his throat.

"Al and Eppler. Your rooms will be down the hall to the left, your names are on the door so try not to get lost. Next up, the girl assignments," Virginia grabbed Colette's hand and shook it with anticipation. "Sasha and Vesta, Faith and Poma," as Faith stood up the drowsy girl got up with great speed at the promise of an actual bed and the two went to get their bags. "Tessa and Jett, Starr and Virginia," Virginia had a sad expression as she took her hand back and mouthed the words ' _I am sorry_ '. Hurt by the knowledge that she wouldn't be sharing a room with her friend, it dawned on Colette that only one person was left to room with.

"Colette and Daisy." Colette's heart plummeted at the thought of sharing a room with someone like Daisy. The words rang through her ears like a gunshot as Daisy shrugged and went to get her stuff. "Girls, your rooms will down the hall to the right. Class starts at 8 am on the dot, so meet in room 130 then. Don't be late." Colette stood in place, frozen as she felt her world spin around her faster and faster, anxiety gripping her until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," Daisy's voice caused a shiver to run down Colette's spine. She turned to face her new roommate. "You'd better not snore." From any other person that might have been a joke but from Daisy it was a threat.

* * *

The rooms were decent sized, each one housing two beds, two desks, and two dressers, and as Colette entered she saw Daisy lifting some small weights on her bed. Daisy had only brought a gym bag with her, the contents strewn over her bed.

"Why did you bring so much shit?" Daisy questioned Colette without so much as looking away from her workout. "You know they're letting us go home for personal stuff next week, right? Why haul all that junk here now and not then?" Colette was still putting her bags on her desk as she was interrogated.

"Well, I… I mean, my mom packed my bags for me. We didn't know what the weather would be like, so we packed precautiously." Colette gestured at both her suitcases. "I have snacks in one of my tote bags for the trip and in case I get hungry while studying," Colette lifted the bag up and put it on her desk. "My other tote bag has electronics, I've got my charger for my phone, my laptop, my tablet," Colette placed her other tote on the desk, "you know, essentials. My duffel it's… well, it's just personal things, not important." Colette quickly slid the bag under her bed. Daisy had stopped her workout to look directly at Colette.

"Personal stuff? Like what, a diary?" Daisy threw her weights onto the floor by the bed and threw her clothes haphazardly into her gym bag, tossing it onto the dresser before flopping down onto her bed. Across the room, Colette was carefully sorting her laundry into the dresser. "What was your name? Callie?" Daisy yawned loudly as she stretched. "Colette, that's it. Colette, how come you're so weird?" Colette felt her anxiety spike with this question, the first time Daisy had turned her aggression onto her. "You clearly don't work out, you've been hiding away from everyone, how come you wanna be a hero? You'll end up killed or worse if you ain't prepared, and you ain't." Colette closed her drawers, her clothes put away, as she changed into her pajamas.

"I… I want to be a hero because I want to make people feel good. I have this dream, I want my light to shine around the world and inspire people to be better, I want-"

"Yeah, forget I asked, that's poetic and all that shit. Hit the lights before you get into bed." With that, Daisy closed her eyes, sprawled across her bed in her workout clothes, as Colette looked at her. If she couldn't survive a roommate, she could never be a pro hero. Daisy terrified Colette, but she was right, she wasn't ready at all, that's why she was here.

And yet Virginia's words continued to play through Colette's mind as she tucked herself in and closed her eyes. _Even the greatest heroes have their detractors,_ she had said. _...and Colette I believe you can be a gre_ at hero.


	2. The First Day

**Author's Note:**

It's been, like, seriously well over a year since I updated this, oops! If you were following the first chapter, I would highly recommend going back to read it before this chapter as I've updated it. The basic plot is the same, but a lot of character interactions have been altered and the story continues up through the first night, leading directly to the start of this chapter. I want to give a big shoutout to my friends Kevin and Avi for being helpful to my writing process, and to Avi for drawing Colette to use as the cover to this story. Hope you enjoy this entry!

* * *

A shrill alarm blared, waking Colette instantly from her slumber. She reached over to turn the clock off, checking the time. 6:45 am. Colette fished around her desk for her glasses, putting them on gingerly as she heard her roommate rolling over in her bed.

"Why are you… up so… damn early?" Daisy was still partially asleep but wouldn't let that stop her from scolding Colette. Colette ignored Daisy as she walked towards the light switch. She stopped as a pillow went soaring past her, hitting the door. "If you… touch that light… I'll kill you." Colette slowly backed away from the switch nervously, using her Quirk instead to give herself a personal light.

The dorms had no windows, so the only light came from Colette and what little light leaked in under the door. Colette found her clothes for the day, a pair of jeans and one of her favorite sweaters, and let the room darken again as she changed from her pajamas to her outfit. Colette grabbed her brush and began running it through her thick hair, grimacing at each tangle, before carefully braiding her hair on each side.

Colette checked her phone and was dismayed to see she had no signal still. After playing with her hair for a few minutes in silence, Colette got her backpack out of a suitcase and started organizing her supplies. She picked out a pen and clipped it to her shirt, ready for the first day of class.

Colette looked over at her alarm clock to check the time. 7:30 am. Foghorn said classes started at eight in room 140. Or was it 130? Colette began to question herself, but hoped she could find Virginia before class started.

"Hey, there's only a half hour until class starts, you should think about getting ready," Colette was scared of Daisy but still hoped that she could try and make her a better person, even starting with this morning.

"Shut up, I'm trying to sleep," Daisy lay face down on her bed, clearly without care for the upcoming classes. Colette rolled her eyes, backpack square over her shoulders, as she went for the door. She paused, looking at Daisy's pillow on the floor, back at Daisy, and with a sigh picked the pillow back up and placed it on her bed. Daisy gave no reaction but did groan loudly as Colette opened the door.

Colette stepped out into the hall and looked to see a handful of students turning the corner out of sight. Colette started to power walk that way before the girls' bathroom door opened and Virginia and her new roommate Starr walked out. Both Starr and Virginia had a pink star in makeup on their face, and Starr herself looked ready for a stage show.

"Hello, Colette! I hope you had a pleasant night, I am sorry you ended up being roommates with Daisy," Virginia was as excited this morning as she had been all night, and thankfully she seemed to have a better relationship with her roommate. "This is my roommate, Starr! She is very artistic!" Virginia turned her head slightly to emphasize the star on her face.

"Thanks, but really I just do makeup." Starr chuckled and rubbed the back of her head before holding a hand out for a handshake. "I take it you're Colette then, Virginia's already said a lot about you. Sorry you had to be stuck with Daisy."

"It's good to meet you, Starr!" Colette shook her hand gently. "Oh! I couldn't remember, is class today in room 130 or 140?" Both Starr and Virginia replied in unison that it was room 130. The three turned and walked down the hall in idle chit chat, though were interrupted by a commotion in one of the rooms.

"Wake up already! How are you still asleep, class starts soon and you haven't even opened your eyes yet!" Faith's screams had no problem escaping her room, and the sounds of objects moving and falling followed. "If you're going to be a hero you can't stay in bed all day, wake up!" The three looked at each other with concern at first and then broke out laughing.

"At least I don't have the worst roommate situation," Colette's anxiety had calmed since last night. She had made friends who were excited to see her again, her roommate didn't seem to have any interest in beating her up, and she was off to her first class with time to spare. She looked at her new friends and felt good about these upcoming years.

* * *

The three had arrived at the classroom with fifteen minutes left before class. Roughly half their class had already shown up, with D sitting in the front row frantically waving for them to sit by him. While Colette was hesitant to sit by him, she didn't have any other friends in the room, so she gave in and ushered her friends over to the front row. The desks were surprisingly large, probably to make room for students with large mutant Quirks, and Colette felt swallowed by her chair as she tried to lean back in it.

"Morning Colette, Virginia. It's so weird sleeping in a new place, especially with someone you just met that night." D held a hand out towards Starr. "How're you doing, my name's D, I break stuff," Similar to Virginia, D's energy seemed just as intense this morning as it had last night, much to Colette's chagrin. Starr herself looked unsure as she shook his hand.

"Good to meet you, my name's Starr, I'm Virginia's roommate." Starr took her seat on the other side of Virginia and grabbed a notebook from a stylish bag along with a colored pen. Colette followed suit, writing down the title of the class, 'Basics of Heroism' in neat, careful lettering at the top of the page, followed by the date, Monday, January 15th.

The door opened and Colette turned to see Faith storming into the classroom, behind her dragging her still dozing roommate wrapped in a blanket. Faith took her roommate and grabbed the last two front seats, attempting to prompt the sleeping girl up in her chair with little success.

"Ugh, you are impossible! How are you even tired, you slept during the entire reception and all night!" Faith's hair started to gain its color back, and Colette wondered what kind of Quirk she had. Faith slammed both hands on her roommates desk. "Please! Wake! Up!" Each word was punctuated by a hard hit on the desk. Eventually, her eyes slowly opened.

"Faith! It's the first day of class. Are you ready?" She yawned as she got herself sitting upright, still wrapped in her blanket. Faith pulled at her hair in frustration before taking a deep breath, her hair dulling back down, and taking her seat. During this commotion, most of the rest of the class had shown up, with Rusty showing up two minutes before class started and having to find a seat in the back row. Daisy was nowhere to be seen as the clock rolled over to eight, and the door opened to reveal Miss Solar ducking down to get through the doorway.

"Good morning, class, good to see that most of you could manage to make it to your first day. As I'm sure all of you know, I am Miss Solar, and in addition to serving as dean to this school I will also be in charge of your Basics class." Colette nodded her head silently. The U.S. didn't have many big name heroes throughout the country, but Miss Solar was among the most prominent. If the school was going to have anyone teach them about being a hero, there was no one better for the job than Solar. She pulled out a key and locked the door behind her.

"It is imperative that as heroes you learn the importance of punctuality. While this may be a class, when you're a Pro Hero you will need to be able to respond in seconds to a threat. Seconds can mean the difference between life or death for a civilian, and that starts now." Miss Solar walked to the front of the classroom and began writing on the chalkboard. "I will begin with the basics. The importance of Pro Heroes and how they differ from vigilantes-" Solar's lecture was paused by the sound of the door handle being tugged at, the lock clicking repeatedly. "Pro Heroes are regulated-" Once again she was cut off, this time with the door flying off its hinges onto the floor. Daisy walked into the classroom, her arm crystallized like it had been last night, wearing the same clothes that she had gone to sleep in.

"If you don't want doors broken down, don't lock 'em," Daisy slumped into the last empty desk and rested her head on her hand. Miss Solar cleared her throat, commanding the class's attention.

"If there are no more interruptions, I'd like to begin my class now, thank you." Solar wrote the words 'Pro Hero' and 'Vigilante' on the board, which Colette noticed grabbed Daisy's attention. "As I was saying, Pro Heroes are regulated by the government. This ensures accountability for the heroes, as well as providing allocated resources from both the government and law enforcement. Pros operate as national icons, not only maintaining peace in their district but sending a message to both the country and the world. A Pro Hero inspires hope in those who see her." Each one of these points were bulleted down the board in a column.

"On the flipside, a vigilante is someone who acts without consent or regulation by the government. Vigilantes act on their own resources and jurisdiction, and frequently hold little regard for the law. Whereas a Pro inspires hope, a vigilante inspires fear, using that as a deterrent for criminals." Miss Solar turned towards the class. "While the idea of taking the law into your own hands can sound attractive, you can easily cause more damage than you fix by acting outside the authorities and other Pros." A hand shot into the air in the back of the classroom, and Colette turned in surprise to see an intent, focused Daisy raising her hand.

"Sometimes a Pro just can't act fast enough, though, right?" Daisy's words sounded more accusatory than curious, almost challenging Solar. "Or what about people who don't live in a Pro's district, what about them, huh? Vigilante's don't have to be tied down to dumb shit like protocol and still save lives."

"An interesting counterpoint from someone who didn't seem interested in this class before breaking the door down." Solar turned her attention to Daisy. "May I get your name?" Daisy cooperated. "Daisy is correct, to a degree. Everything I've said about vigilantes versus Pro Heroes is true, but at the end of the day a hero's job is to save and protect people. A Pro won't always be around, even in Japan, let alone the U.S. Sometimes you have to step in and act for what you know is right. However, making a habit of this breeds conflict between heroes and the law, and our country is striving to produce more Pro Heroes to cut down on vigilantism. May I ask why you're so interested in this topic?"

"It's because her parents are vigilantes, or at least one of them is. A sibling, maybe." To Colette's right, Faith had spoken up, her fists clenched, eyes closed. She looked up and opened her eyes. "It's so obvious. The way she doesn't care for rules or etiquette at all, she's clearly been trained to use her Quirk but also comes from a home without any money," Faith turned to face Daisy. "Vigilantes choose what they want to do and take what they want without considering who it could affect or what could happen." With a scoff, Daisy turned away from Faith and looked off into the distance, seemingly hurt by her words.

"Stop at once. This is my class, and if you two continue behaving like this towards each other I will step in and put an end to it one way or another." Miss Solar cast her featureless gaze at both the students. "You're training to be heroes, support each other. The question was valid, there's no reason to get worked up about it. Daisy is here the same as you, that means she wants to be a Pro, not a vigilante. We have wasted too much time already, please, no more interruptions." As Solar continued her lecture, Colette looked at the two. They obviously had a problem with each other, but to go off so quickly, in the middle of class? It worried Colette a great deal, and she could see Virginia was thinking the same thing.

* * *

After class, Colette compared notes in the halls with Starr and Virginia on the way to their next class. They talked idly but at the back of Colette's mind all she could think about were Daisy and Faith. The next class was Physics, with the Mirror Hero Reflects as the professor. Colette wasn't great at math but Virginia, Starr, and D were all willing to help her and Rusty with the work. Most of it covered basic physics but Reflects told the class how she would teach them about applying physics to combat and Quirk usage later in the class. During the class, neither Faith nor Daisy were focused from what Colette could tell, deeply distracted by their fight earlier.

A few classes later and the students were on a break between courses. Colette was laughing and chatting with her friends in the hall when they noticed a small crowd of the other students had formed, and directly in the middle of it stood Faith and Daisy. Colette's hand flew to her mouth out of fear of what was about to happen.

"What's your damage, anyways? Why did you give a damn about my stupid family?" Daisy barked her words out as she tossed her denim vest to the floor but there were tears in her eyes.

"Vigilantes are no better than petty criminals. They act recklessly, selfishly, and violently, just like you. Why even bother coming here? You obviously have vigilante in your blood, why get in the way of real heroes?" Faith screamed back, her hair glowing brighter red. "Is this just a workout for you? Just people to train against?" She wrapped her hair around her fist like she had the night before while Daisy wiped a tear away.

"If you've got such a problem with me and my family then go ahead," Daisy held her arms wide open, "take the first hit." Colette went to step forward to try and stop the fight but Virginia pulled her back with concern in her eyes.

"Shut up!" Faith screamed as she swung her hair-wrapped fist directly into Daisy's stomach with a clank. Daisy smiled at the attempt as smoke billowed from the impact. Faith pulled her hand back to reveal Daisy's now diamond stomach underneath a charred tank top.

* * *

 **FAITH HOLLAND**

 **QUIRK: FILAMENT**

Faith's Quirk allows her to heat her hair up to intense temperatures! The temperature and color is controlled by her mood and isn't limited to just the hair on her head, letting her heat up her body hair and even her eyelashes to a fever pitch!

* * *

"Is that how you're gonna grow up to be a hero? Weak-ass punches that singe clothing?" Faith gritted her teeth and continued throwing punches at Daisy, who dodged some but just tanked others, leading her shirt to be a smoldering mess by the time Faith paused, gasping for air. "Pathetic. No conviction behind your attacks. Let me give you a lesson!" Daisy's fist crystallized as she threw her first punch, barely missing Faith's head as she ducked out of the way. Daisy threw a second heavy hit downward, Faith dodging to have it connect with the floor, shattering a tile.

"You're slow, predictable, reckless," each insult Faith tossed out was in response to another whiffed punch, "all that strength and you can't use it for anything." Faith jumped back and, planting her feet down, switched to the offensive. "There's no creativity or strategy with how you fight!" Faith leapt forward as she shouted this, spinning through the air and whipping her long burning hair towards Daisy. Daisy flinched back and brought her arm up in front of her face, crystallizing it instantly. The shock of pain coursed through her face as thin hairs flayed her face with heat.

"Virginia, we have to stop this," Colette grabbed her friend by the shoulders as she spoke frantically, "we need to get Miss Solar." Virginia nodded sadly and the two turned and sprinted down the hall and around the corner towards the dean's office. When they got to the door Colette nearly broke it down entering.

"Hello?" Miss Solar turned in mild surprise at the commotion to see Colette and Virginia standing in the doorway breathing heavily. "Your class seems to have an odd fascination with breaking down doors, can I help you?" Solar placed a pile of folders on her desk.

"I- We- Faith and Daisy are fighting- And I'm worried they're going to get hurt." With each gasp for air Colette became more desperate to get her message across.

"Please Ms. Miss Solar, they are fighting about what was said in class earlier today, you have to break it up before one of them does something bad!" Virginia picked up where Colette's breaths left off, and before she could finish Miss Solar was marching out the door. The two followed close behind her, still tired from sprinting to the office.

"If these two don't knock their behavior off…" Solar trailed off as she spoke aloud. They rounded the corner to see the crowd in awe surrounding the fight. Now, Daisy had Faith lifted off the ground by her hair, which had started turning purple, with a crystallized hand. Her other hand was clenched in a fist as Faith clawed at her crystalline arm. "Move." Miss Solar's solemn words immediately dispersed the crowd as she walked towards the two combatants. She placed a firm hand on Daisy's smoking shoulder. "Put her down. Now."

Daisy shot a burning look to Solar before looking back with a frown, rolling her eyes as she let her arm return to flesh. She let go of Faith's hair, causing her to fall onto the floor in a heap. Within seconds she jumped back up and delivered a punch in the same spot she had to start the fight. Daisy was taken by surprise, doubling over from the hit to her now unprotected abdomen. As she recrystallized her hand, Miss Solar quickly stepped between them.

"To my office. Now." With an uncharacteristic sternness, Solar pointed down the hall the way she came. "If you two so much as say another word to each other you will both be expelled faster than you can say 'but she started it', do I make myself clear?" Faith, shaking with rage, nodded her head while Daisy held her stomach and muttered something under her breath. "Now go." As Miss Solar waited for them to go ahead, Colette grabbed her attention.

"Hey, I'm sorry about the mess they made… I know it doesn't seem like it but I'm sure they're both trying very hard to be heroes." Colette played with one of her braids nervously. "If they ask, please don't tell them I'm the one who got you. Daisy's my roommate and, well…" Solar turned to the student and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What you did was brave and just. You and your friend cared so much about your classmates' safety that you left the scene while others just watched. I will keep your name out of conversation with them." Colette's heart rate skyrocketed as she received praise from her idol, after her lifelong hero had grabbed her shoulder. As Miss Solar continued down the hall, she paused and turned her head back. "You're Colette, right?" Colette nodded nervously in response. "I'll be keeping an eye on you."

* * *

The rest of the day's classes were thankfully uneventful, with Faith quiet throughout the rest of the day and Daisy absent. Colette worried that her roommate had been expelled but… why? Colette puzzled over it through her classes. The past twenty-four hours Colette had been nothing but afraid of Daisy, so why was she now afraid for her? She could have the room to herself, be free of ridicule and threats, she should be elated that Daisy could be gone for good. She had asked Virginia why she felt this way, and she just replied that she was a compassionate person. Colette wasn't so sure.

After class, however, Colette's worries were swept aside and replaced with her usual brand of anxiety as she opened the door to her dorm to see Daisy sitting on her bed, clutching her bandaged stomach with one hand and exercising the other. The lights were off, the room dimly lit by her phone screen. She was still wearing the smoldering remains of her tank top from the night before, and Colette began to wonder if she had even brought other clothes. As soon as the door had been opened, Daisy wiped away her face before returning to her routine.

"Do you mind if I turn the light on?" Daisy ignored Colette as she continued to lift weights. Colette took a breath and flipped the switch, bracing herself for an insult or threat, but Daisy didn't have a reaction. Colette took her backpack off and opened it, pulling out a handful of sheets she had ripped from her notebook and placing them on Daisy's desk. "I copied some of the notes from today's classes for you… I don't know if you'll read them or anything but I thought it was better for you to have them than not." Colette glanced at the ground, struggling to break the tension with Daisy. She sat down on her bed, angling her body towards Daisy but keeping her head down. Colette placed a hoodie she had carefully chosen onto Daisy's desk as well.

"I thought, well, you might want something a little warmer since it's winter and all, and your clothes are all torn up," Colette feebly offered her clothes to Daisy.

"I don't want your stupid sweater."

"So, your Quirk lets you turn into diamond?" Colette asked, trying to find a neutral topic to talk about.

"Yep." Without thinking Daisy replied, as if on autopilot.

"That's really cool, I just glow and make lights appear." Colette fumbled with the topic as Daisy continued to ignore her. Tapping her fingers on her bed, Colette tried to think of anything to say to make up for getting her roommate in trouble. "So, is it true? About your parents I mean." Colette's blood pressure shot up as she put a hand to her mouth. _Why did I say that?_ Colette began writing her will in her head. Faith had barely been able to hold her own against Daisy, Colette would be murdered. Daisy stopped lifting her dumbbell and finally looked up at her roommate.

"Why does everyone have something to say about vigilantes around here?" Daisy's response scared Colette but it didn't come off as harsh at all, and there was even a quaver to her voice as she asked.

"N-no, not at all." Colette paused a moment to compose herself. "I never really gave vigilantes a second thought either way, I suppose. I grew up in a good neighborhood and, well, it's not something my family had to be concerned with," Colette looked up to meet Daisy's gaze. "Vigilante or not, your parents are heroes. You should be proud of that, if, you know, if that's true and everything…" Colette trailed off as she felt Daisy analyzing her.

"Fine, whatever." Daisy returned to lifting weights, switching which arm was comforting her abdomen and which one was working out. Colette went to get up off her bed, assuming Daisy was done talking to her, but her roommate continued. "Yeah, my parents used to be vigilantes."

"They used to…? What happened?" Colette let herself sit back down, even feeling her anxiety start to leave. Daisy sat in silence, deep in thought. After a few seconds, Colette piped back in. "I'm sorry, that's too personal, we only just met and I don't mean to bring up any bad memories or any-"

"Nothing bad happened to them, idiot." Daisy cut Colette off as she placed her weight on the bed and looked up towards the ceiling. With a sigh, she continued her explanation. "They just kicked me out of the house when I was younger, so not really my parents anymore. The pay was bad, they were always racking up new medical bills, and were wanted by the law. They couldn't afford me, so they kicked me out on my sixteenth birthday." She looked directly at Colette. "I think they thought it'd get me a chance at a better life, not being connected to their work and all, but it's hard to forgive people after that."

Colette's heart swelled with emotion at this story, and could feel a tear forming in her eye. "From then on I've been on my own, doing odd jobs and hopping from hotel to hotel. That's part of why I even applied, it's like a permanent home for me for four years, something stable in my life. But on the other hand…" Daisy moved her hand away from her abdomen and looked at the bandages as she spoke calmer than Colette thought imaginable, "I want to prove to my parents that I can do good for the world. I want to prove to everyone who's ever beaten me in a fight, I want to prove to the Pros, I want to shove it in Faith's face that I," Daisy put a hand to her chest. "I will prove that I can be a hero." Daisy looked across the room to see Colette wiping tears away from her eyes.

"Look, don't get all soft on me, okay? I only told you all this so the next time you see me in a fight you don't think I'm some kind of monster, alright?" Daisy picked up her weight again as she continued her exercise. "And if you breathe a word of this to anyone, especially Faith or one of the professors, I'll kill you in your sleep."


	3. Power Test: Start!

In the city of Marquette, Michigan, the first snow of the year had started falling. Sergeant Andrew Pines was loading his gear back onto the jeep in the dark as powder accumulated on his uniform. The past couple of days had been exceedingly boring for him, just hauling schoolchildren out into the woods, but he was happy to at least get to stay off base for a few nights. He understood the point of all the secrecy but with how far out of the way the school was he figured they could at least risk sending another driver.

 _Maybe_ I _should apply for a hero school, it'd beat taxiing kids around_ , Sergeant Pines thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted as one of his ears twitched. Sergeant Pines had a mutation Quirk that gave him a bat-like face and excellent hearing, which had just picked up a sound nearby. Pines turned his head towards the sound for a moment before returning to his task. Once again his attention was pulled away, this time by a closer sound. He ducked around to the other side of the jeep but saw nothing.

"This is Sergeant Andrew Pines of the United States Army. If anyone's there, show yourself or you will be in violation of U.S. law for interference with military business." Pines put his hand on his holster, scanning for anyone with both his eyes and ears. After a moment of nothing but the snow, Pines relaxed his tense body and turned back around towards the jeep to find another mutant Quirk laying on top of the vehicle. "Jesus!" Andrew's hand flew back to his gun as he took a panicked step backwards.

"You've got some pretty good ears on you, Sergeant," said the intruder, whose whiskered face was reticulated with spots. "Most people wouldn't have heard me even without the snow." He grinned, and as Pines drew his pistol it was immediately knocked from his hand by a clawed hand. The assailant leapt nimbly off the jeep in front of Pines, revealing himself to have a large leopard-like Quirk.

"What do want from me?" asked Sergeant Pines as he stumbled backwards into the snow. He reached out towards his gun once more, only to have it kicked away from his grasp as the man approached him, raising a curved claw to his face.

"Oh, we don't want anything to do with you, Sergeant," he replied, caressing his face with one hand as he left a long scratch with the other. Pines winced in pain as he was dropped to the ground. "Unfortunately for you, you've seen us now. Arms, dispose of him." Pines felt himself lifted off the ground by powerful hands from behind. Before he could even struggle, Pines had been hurled at high speed from the unseen attacker. He found himself hurtling through the air towards the treeline, the cold wind bringing more pain to his freshly opened wound.

"Come… on…" Pines muttered under his breath as he tried to strip his uniform jacket off, the tangled branches of trees looming ever closer as he flew through the air. With a sigh of relief the jacket came loose, tumbling through the air below him. He stretched his arms out to reveal thin, membranous wings, and Pines frantically flapped his arms away from the forest. While he was moving too fast through the air to gain control of his flight, he prayed that he could at least slow the impact. He closed his eyes and braced for collision.

* * *

"Next time I say to dispose of someone, just crush their head with your hands, you colossal idiot. We don't have time to go check on him, so for your sake we'd better hope the fall killed him." The leopard-faced attacker scolded his companion Arms, who got his name from the two massive metal arms he bore. Arms lifted one of his hands from the ground in a half shrug.

"Sorry, Pred, just didn't seem very sporting." Arms marched towards Predator on all fours, using his knuckles to brace him. "Besides, I'd hate to get my arms dirty. I don't know how difficult it is to clean the blood from my joints." Predator leapt up on top of the jeep.

"If you don't start using your brain on missions, you'll find out how hard it is one way or another." Predator examined the jeep and the ground around it. "Alright, let's get this thing moving before someone catches on." Arms groaned, knowing that meant he had to do the hard work.

"Can't we do this your way? It's cold and my arms are sore," Arms rolled his shoulders as he complained.

"The snow's covering the tracks now, it would take days just to find the trail, even for me." Predator hopped down from the jeep and tied a rope around the bumper. "No, we're switching to plan B." He tied the rope around Arms' hands tight. "We're taking this back to Dolly."

* * *

Sergeant Pines woke up with a gasp sometime later, half buried in a pile of snow. His chest and arms were numb from the cold, and his head pounded as he tried to pull himself from the snowbank. He had branches poking into him from his landing, and splinters over his body, his face still in pain where he was scratched. He was alive, though. He reached for his radio and sent out a message through the static.

"This… is Sergeant Andrew Pines. I… need help." With these words, he leaned back into the snow, exhausted, and blacked out again.

* * *

"You expect us to cross _that_?" Snow continued to fall the following Tuesday morning over HCC Midwest, blanketing the scenery. D was dressed in a thick winter coat, obscuring his body down to his knees, and matching snow boots, as he pointed out to a massive chasm ahead of where the class stood. Between the class and the ravine stood a stout Pro Hero covered in an organic armor, similar to a rhinoceros. His head had even thicker layers of armor running down the back of it, and he wore minimal clothing.

"It's easy. Cross the ditch, grab the ribbon with your name on it, bring it back." As he gave his instructions, the Impenetrable Hero Armoraider also pointed across the gap, then at the ground before him.

"What about people without mobility Quirks? There's students with wings here, I just break things." D gestured to himself as he argued. "What's the point of this? To prove that some people can use their Quirks to get over obstacles? It's not fair to grade us on this, you know," D crossed his arms with that statement.

"Sometimes being a Pro Hero is about dealing with impossible odds," bellowed a voice behind everyone. The class turned around to see Miss Solar in her standard teaching outfit, ushering with her the tardy Daisy. "Besides, you aren't being graded for these exams. The staff needs to see where everyone excels and where everyone needs help." Solar tilted her head towards Daisy while she spoke. "That's why it's imperative for everyone to show up and give it their all. It's our way of building the curriculum around you."

"Right. There are three categories, each with two exams. Right now we're testing your power," Armoraider explained. "Following the power exams, you'll get exams to test your wisdom. After that, your courage." Colette counted each category on her fingers. _Power, wisdom, courage… where have I heard that before?_ Colette's thoughts were cut off when she saw what Daisy was wearing; a dull green hoodie with a print of pine trees. It was the sweater that Colette had lent her, and she had ripped the sleeves off it at some point. Colette was simultaneously furious and sad, she really liked that sweater.

"Your first power preliminary exam is based on navigation." Armoraider turned to address D directly. "Heroes have to get to a crisis before they can save anyone, regardless of Quirks. If you can't cross a ravine, you can't expect to be a Pro." Armoraider looked back to the whole class. "Your speed will be judged, obviously. Since not everyone has a Quirk for this, points will be awarded for…" Armoraider looked towards Miss Solar, forgetting what he was supposed to say.

"...Creative problem solving," Solar finished for her co-worker. "Prove to us that you can give serious thought to problems the way a hero would. Navigation is one of the most basic aspects of being a hero, but also one of the most important."

"Now that everyone's here, begin." Armoraider gave a half-hearted gesture. At first, most of the students stood around in confusion at the lack of theatrics before heading off towards the gorge. Without hesitation, Daisy sprinted past the rest of the students, leaping off the edge of the ravine and leaving Colette's sight. One of the boys pulled out paper and began drawing, shielding his work from the wind and snow. D stood around in a state of irritation, while Faith crossed her arms, looking impatient.

Colette wanted to wait and see what some of the other students were going to do to finish the task but knew she couldn't afford to waste any time. When she got to the edge of the hill, Colette felt a knot in her throat form. The hill to the ravine was steeper than any she had ever climbed before, and several of the students who had rushed ahead were struggling with the slope. Some had fallen into the snow below, and there was a crater in the powder where Daisy had landed from her jump, now running along the ravine towards the uphill portion.

"Best luck, Colette! I will see you on the other side!" Virginia's cheerful voice drifted past Colette as her friend caught the wind on her wings and began to soar over the ravine. Colette took a deep breath and eased herself down onto the slope. She had gone hiking in the mountains before on vacation with her family, but the rocks hadn't been covered in snow at the time, and it was hard for Colette to figure out where she could actually safely step. A few feet down the side and she was going well so far, but she could feel her heart rate increasing. She absolutely hated heights, not being helped by the cold weather causing her to shiver.

Something rocketed overhead, catching Colette's attention. Faith, who now wore athletic shorts under her winter jacket, flew across the ravine at an unbelievable speed. Her legs were on fire, propelling her through the air as she kicked back against the air. Colette's mouth opened in awe of the maneuver, and as she went to take another step the snow slipped out from under her. Before she could realize what was happening she was falling down the hill towards the bottom. Instinctively, she grabbed her glasses with both hands, keeping them on her face as she tumbled down the hill through the snow.

Shivering more than ever, Colette lifted her face out of the fresh snow. Wiping her face clean of the snow, she examined her glasses before sighing and hanging her head. The bridge had bent and one of her lenses were cracked. She tried to bend them back in place, but with her shaking hands she was unable. Defeated, she tucked her glasses into her pocket and looked at the ground. This was the first test and already she was failing. She knew that this wasn't graded, but she wanted to prove to Miss Solar that she could do better. On the verge of tears, she looked up as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Rusty smiled back down at her.

"Well that's sure a fast way to get to the bottom! Need a hand? Or a… claw?" Rusty laughed as he snapped his claw a few times. Colette smiled as she took his hand and was helped out of the snow onto her feet. Colette dusted herself off of the snow.

"Thank you, Rusty," she said, giving a small bow to her friend. "I appreciate your help but please don't let me slow you down, I'm not doing that well so far," she said with an embarrassed tone. Before she had finished speaking, Rusty had already started running off, waving to her while he did so.

"No need to warn me, I'll help ya when you need it but I still gotta watch out for numero uno!" Rusty's voice trailed off as he vanished beyond the snow banks and the trees along the bottom of the ravine.

 _No more pitying yourself_ , Colette thought to herself as she pulled her feet out of the snow. _Rusty's right, I have to prove that I want to win_. Colette continued to march through the snow slowly, each step growing heavier with the snow. _I need to prove to myself that I want to win._ A shadow on the ground caught her attention and caused her to look up to its source, where she thought she saw the drawing boy from earlier soaring through the air on a hang glider.

 _Did he draw that?_ Colette rubbed her eyes, hoping to improve her vision even marginally. While he flew overhead, she saw him pull to one side as Faith made her return trip, still blasting through the air. Even without the finer details Colette could recognize her by the speed she traveled through the air. Nobody else passed Colette on the way back, so she assumed Faith was the first. Colette looked behind her, confirming that while most people had passed her she was thankfully not last.

As she trudged on, she saw a figure running towards her from the opposite direction. As they approached Colette recognized her as Faith's roommate Poma, the same girl who had been sleeping nearly the entire past 48 hours. She passed by in a moment, holding her assigned ribbon as she ran past. Colette's vision followed her back. _Was that really the same girl as before?_ Colette was worried that her vision was worse than she remembered, but maybe it was wrong of her to underestimate her classmates.

Halfway across the ravine, Colette looked ahead at the hill in front of her. Exhausted, she sat herself down on a log, gasping for shallow breaths in the cold air. Students continued to pass her both directions while she sat, resting herself. _How am I going to climb that? And back down?_ Colette rolled her head the way she had came. _And then back up again?_ Colette laid back on the log, her breath stabilizing, as she saw a shape overhead. She assumed it was the boy on the hang glider earlier, but the shape got larger, slowly approaching Colette, and eventually she could recognize it as Virginia.

"Colette, are you okay?" Her friend landed gently next to where she had resigned herself, sinking in the soft snow. Colette looked over lazily to her.

"Yeah, I just…" Colette looked back up at the sky as she trailed off. "I don't think I can do this, not on my own anyways. I'll just take a bad score on this, I clearly am not made for this." As Colette chastised herself, Virginia grabbed her arms gingerly and sat her upright. Her face went from a look of concern to a nurturing one.

"I have good news for you, Colette," Virginia said with a warm smile on her face. "You are not on your own!" Virginia stepped back from Colette and began flapping her wings. Snowflakes swirled around, surrounding her with a dazzling display of crystals. As Colette looked on with amazement, Virginia said "Stay here, Colette, I will be right back!" Virginia took off, flying back towards the side of the ravine. Colette raised her hand in slight protest but it was too late.

By now, most of the students had passed Colette as they returned to the initial cliff as Virginia landed back with Colette, holding her ribbon out triumphantly.

"Thank you, but you really shouldn't have." Colette took the ribbon from her friend and held it to her chest. "You shouldn't sacrifice your grade just to help me, it's too late for me to really get a good score on this anyways," Colette's statement left a confused look on Virginia's face.

"But Colette, this school is for training of heroes, correct? Heroes help each other out, and would never leave behind a person who was in need just for points!" Virginia held a hand out to Colette. "Please get up! You deserve to finish the test." Colette looked at the ground for a moment, dwelling on what her friend said. She looked back up, taking Virginia's hand and smiling.

"Thank you, Virginia," Colette said, pulling herself up. "I couldn't have done this without you." Colette started to walk back towards the school with a newfound determination. "You can go ahead, I'm rested up, I think I can back on my own now!" Virginia fluttered up to her, grabbing her hand.

"I will not! You are my friend, and I want to make sure that you make it back myself." Virginia walked alongside Colette. "If one of us has to work harder because of these tests, I would rather both of us share the burden!" The duo continued to the bottom of the slope. Colette kept her focus, climbing carefully back up the hill, testing each place she put her foot. Virginia flew slightly ahead of her, checking for any weak spots in the snow while also giving her motivating words. Eventually, she crested the top and met with the rest of the class. Colette was exhausted but overwhelmingly proud of herself.

"Sorry I'm the last one," Colette nervously held her ribbon up as she apologized. The class looked at her and then around at each other.

"You aren't," Armoraider said bluntly. Colette looked around at the class, seeing all of her classmates and wondered who was missing. Eventually it hit her that Daisy wasn't here. But Daisy had been the first one off the cliff, Colette thought to herself. Armoraider held up a pair of binoculars and scanned the far hill. "Daisy still doesn't have her ribbon." Colette looked over at the ravine, wondering why her roommate was having so much trouble.

"Something's not right," Miss Solar said, turning towards Armoraider. "She should have her ribbon by now, they weren't exactly hidden." Solar crossed her arms as she puzzled over the problem. "Armoraider, who were the people who arrived on the hill before Daisy?"

"Faith was first, followed by Virginia, then Auden, and then Daisy." Armoraider counted each person off on his fingers.

"Did everyone grab their correct ribbon?" All three held their ribbons up, revealing their name on them. "We can't rule out the possibility of sabotage, as upsetting a thought as it is," Miss Solar sounded increasingly concerned.

"Daisy's coming back," Armoraider said, "but without a ribbon." Armoraider looked at the three who had arrived before Daisy. "There was one out of place thing I noticed." The Pro held up two fingers as he spoke. "Virginia flew up to the cliff twice." Miss Solar and the class turned to her in suspense.

"No, I could never," Virginia spoke nervously stammering over her normally well composed voice, "I would never interfere with another hero, I-" As Virginia tried to both defend herself and conceal the fact she had retrieved Colette's ribbon for her, Colette looked at the ribbon in her hand. She looked up at Miss Solar and Armoraider and walked between them and Virginia.

"Virginia went up twice because she got my ribbon for me!" Colette lifted her ribbon in the air. "Virginia is a wonderful person and wouldn't do anything to harm one of her classmates." She brought the ribbon back down. "You can lower our grades if you want, but she didn't take Daisy's ribbon." With the confession, Solar put a hand to her starry head, as if rubbing her chin.

"No, I found it hard to suspect Virginia of such deception. I have my suspicions," Miss Solar explained, turning her head towards Faith who had been ignoring this up until now. "Ms. Holland, you wouldn't know what happened to your classmate's ribbon, would you?" Faith gritted her teeth and closed her eyes at the question.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Don't start blaming good heroes when poor students have trouble completing tests." Faith turned directly towards Miss Solar. "She has shown no interest in her studies so far, why only now-" Faith was interrupted by the sound of Daisy climbing the edge of the cliff. The class turned to her.

"My stupid ribbon wasn't there," Daisy sounded shaken, and had tears running down her cheeks. "I looked, it's not there," Daisy's clenched fists were shaking. "The only ribbon there was D's." Daisy snapped and looked directly at D. "You brat, you… did you take my ribbon? Do you want me to fail!?" Daisy marched towards the terrified youth, raising an arm as it crystallized.

"Please, no, I'm sorry, it's not my fault!" D closed his eyes and held out the ribbon he had been holding. As it was held up, the class and professors could see the name 'Daisy' written on it. Daisy grabbed the ribbon from his hands, trembling with emotion.

"You… you little…" Daisy clenched her fist and gritted her teeth, doing everything possible to restrain herself from putting her fist through her classmate. D stumbled backwards, protecting his face with his arms.

"I swear it wasn't me, I didn't even cross the ravine," D spoke quickly as he pointed a finger. "Faith got my ribbon for me, it just happened to have the wrong name on it. Just please don't kill me!" Daisy whirled around immediately, staring down Faith who looked directly back.

"So I grabbed the wrong name. My mistake." Faith turned her nose up at Daisy. "Just like Colette, it was clear that D had no chance of crossing the chasm. As heroes in training it's important that we help each other. It's not my fault your names start with the same letter, anyone could have made that mistake," Faith said with an unapologetic shrug. Before Daisy could take a step Miss Solar was between them.

"I've made myself very clear to both of you. Charitably, I will go with the assumption that Faith grabbed the wrong ribbon with no ill will," she turned to look at her. "Even still, you should have brought up the possibility that you gave the wrong ribbon to D," she cast her gaze onto D. "You should have brought it to our attention immediately when you received the wrong ribbon. And you," Miss Solar finally addressed Daisy, "what has happened with this test is unfortunate. Under different circumstances, you would have been one of the first back. On top of that, you showed dedication to the task at hand, spending a great deal of time trying to find something which wasn't there." Daisy looked up at Solar as she spoke.

"However, your initial response to conflict can't be violence. As a Pro Hero, you must start with an analytical, diplomatic approach before you start burning bridges. Armoraider?" Solar's fellow Pro nodded. "We have what we need for this test. You have until five to rest, then there will be a general meeting in the gymnasium. Don't be late." Solar turned and both her and Armoraider walked off towards the school.

"Hey, uh, Daisy?" Colette ran up to her roommate, nervous that she might do something rash. "Please try and look past this. I know you and Faith are… not friends, but you can't keep picking fights with her." Daisy paused, looking at Colette.

"I can't even pick a fight if I want to!" Daisy said to Colette, voice elevating. Tears continued to roll down her cheeks. "Solar says I'm on thin ice. If I keep messing shit up, I'll get kicked out. So do me a favor and stop reminding me!" Daisy stormed away from the conversation, leaving Colette feeling conflicted when she felt someone grab her hand. Unsurprisingly, it was Virginia.

"Let us go, Colette, you need to rest. You look very exhausted." Colette nodded, and the two returned back to the school. Virginia walked Colette back to her dorm, and to Colette's surprise Daisy was nowhere to be seen. Colette placed her broken glasses on the desk, crawled into bed, and passed out before she could even remove her coat.

* * *

"You still think this is a good idea?" Armoraider stood to the side of Miss Solar, who was entering information on a computer. "It's an important part of being a Pro, but I don't think it's healthy for this class." Miss Solar was editing what appeared to be a bracket with the students' names on it. She turned to the other professor.

"As Pros, they won't get to frequently choose who to fight once the need arises. They'll have to learn that, whether that's now or later." She returned to the computer. "I think it's better for them to learn it while they still have our support." As she finished, she clicked a few buttons and a nearby printer kicked into life.

"You know those two will probably fight each other, right?" Armoraider picked up two of the printed papers, turning them to show labeled pictures of Daisy and Faith. Solar turned her head to see for a brief moment, and went back to work on the computer.

"I'm counting on it," she replied solemnly.

* * *

Colette awoke hours later to the sound of frantic knocking on her door. In a panic, she picked up her alarm clock to check the time. _4:50 pm_. Colette leapt out of her bed, and realized the snow on her coat had melted into a puddle on the bed and floor. Frustrated but still in a hurry, she through her coat on the floor and slipped her shoes on. Behind the door stood Virginia, Starr, and Rusty.

"Well g'morning, partner!" Rusty greeted her, waving a hand.

"You were not at the gymnasium yet, so we came back to check on you," Virginia started.

"Also, it was a little awkward after everything that happened today," Starr continued. "...so we were thankful for a distraction."

"Where are your glasses, Colette?" Virginia asked, noticing her rubbing her eyes.

"Oh, I accidentally landed on them during the exam today, I'll just have to get my spare from home this weekend when we leave," Colette explained. "I am upset I broke them on the preliminary exam week, I hope it doesn't throw me off too much." The four of them hurried to the gymnasium, making it back with only a few minutes to spare. Colette was taken aback by the gymnasium. While the rest of the school had so far felt old and dilapidated, the gym was clearly a newer room, featuring comfortable bleachers with the group now sat in and bright lights. What appeared to be a scoreboard hung on the wall, covered by a tarp.

"What do y'all think the next exam is? I feel like I've done pretty good so far, let's keep the ball rolling!" Rusty turned to the group in excitement, which the other three didn't fully reciprocate.

"Well, I assume it'll be the other power exam they were talking about," Starr guessed. "It would make sense to get the physically intense ones done first, so we're not in rough shape when we go back home." Starr laughed. "It would be pretty bad for us to go home from our first week covered in bruises and band-aids!" Colette thought about what the next test could be. _Gymnastics? An obstacle course, maybe?_

"Attention, students!" Miss Solar walked to the middle of the room, along with Armoraider. "I must say I'm impressed that all of you have shown up on time for once, especially after such a grueling day! There's hope for you yet." Miss Solar folded her arms behind her back as she paced in front of the class. "As some of you may have guessed, the next exam will be the other power exam, and will be held tomorrow when classes normally start." She turned to her cohort. "Armoraider, if you would?" With this acknowledgment, Armoraider went over to the covered board, pulling a rope to remove the cover. Underneath the cover was a bracket, consisting of pictures of all the students in the class.

"Tomorrow's exam will be evaluating where everyone's skills in combat are! Many Pros and wannabes alike assume this is the most important aspect of being a hero, and it's certainly one of the hardest to master! Tomorrow we expect to see you all pull out all the stops in a combat tournament!" Miss Solar stopped her walking and turned towards the class. "Similar to today's exam, we understand that many of your matchups will be one-sided thanks to your Quirks, so we will be looking not only for students who win but those who show the fighting spirit of a Pro! Someone who spends their match learning and compensating for whatever difference their opponent might have over them! Underdogs who-!"

"Ma'am." Armoraider cleared his throat, letting her know that she had gotten carried away in her speech. She looked at Armoraider, then back at the class.

"Ahem. As I was saying, your preliminary combat score will be based on how you approach combat, not just how strong you are. The battles will continue until one participant forfeits, or until Armoraider or myself feel the battle is unsafe to continue. Feel free to look at the board to see your opponents, but be sure to get plenty of rest before tomorrow!" Miss Solar gave a thumbs up to the class, almost all of which were scanning the board for their pictures.

 _Please, please, please,_ thought Colette. Right at the top, there she was, and her opponent was D. She breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't think she had a fighting chance against many people in the class thanks to her Quirk, and most of them were more athletic than her. D frequently showed he had no interest in either the athletics or the spotlight of being a Pro, so Colette figured this would be a way for her to get at least a decent score.

"Shoot!" Colette heard Rusty say. She looked directly below her picture to see Rusty's, whose opponent would either be Daisy or Zeke. Both she and Rusty figured he would have to go up against Daisy. Colette continued to put the pieces together and realized that after she beat Rusty, Daisy's next opponent would be her. Suddenly a lump formed in her throat. _Daisy's going to kill me_ , Colette thought to herself, groaning. She looked back at the board to try and find the rest of her friends. Starr was going up against a blue-skinned girl named Sasha, and Virginia against a girl named Tessa. She glanced over at Faith's picture to see her fighting a purple boy named Eppler.

"Hey, don't worry about me, okay?" Colette felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see D standing behind her. "I've got a plan for tomorrow, so don't feel like holding back, alright?" Colette nodded in confusion as D walked out of the gymnasium. Daisy also left the gym shortly after the lecture, probably confident she could take whoever she was put up against. Starr and Virginia were both attempting to comfort Rusty, whose jolly mood had slipped into despair at his matchup. Colette looked back at her friends before turning and leaving the gym.

Tomorrow she would prove herself.


End file.
